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Topic Review (Newest First)

02-05-2013, 01:45 AM

Unregistered

Wow

Thanks heaps! This worked a treat! We were told we'd have to buy new wing mirrors but this lil trick worked a treat! Thanks so much

01-14-2010, 08:34 AM

jonnieX5

Re: You were right !!! easy fix, Thanks!

Thanks for the post I went home and pulled off the covers and sure enough the passenger side metal arm from the micro switch was off, put it on, set it and they fold and hold. Awesome information,
Thank you
If you manually fold and un fold the mirriors and put your ear next to it as you do, you can hear the click on and click off as you move it. If you can hear that the switches are working properly go to the other side, this may help determin which side or both are not working properly.

01-13-2010, 05:07 AM

ArcticX5

Re: (repair electronic folding mirrors)

My local BMW dealer told me that malfunctioning electronic folding mirrors are a common problem with the X5 . . . after they quoted me appx. $1500 to replace my exterior door mirrors, both of which had the same symptom you are describing (would not stay folded). At the time, I politely declined their offer, figuring it was much cheaper to simply roll down the window and pull the mirror inwards by hand on the few occasions that I needed to do so.

Then I came across a response at justanswer.com in which a BMW tech in the UK claimed that most X5 folding mirror problems are the result of a metal tab on the mirror's microswitch becoming dislodged, and that, instead of replacing the entire mirror assembly as most BMW dealers do, it was actually possible to attempt a "home repair" to successfully fix the microswitch's metal arm. Here is a paraphrased summary of the tech's comments:

"One mirror fault generally effects the other, which often leads to replacing the incorrect mirror . . . the problem lies within the microswitch inside each mirror that detects the position of the mirror, either in or out, and then sends a signal back to the control module to stop the motor from attempting to fold in any further. If the control unit on one of the mirror's doesnít receive the signal or itís faulty, that mirror will immediately fold back out, followed shortly by the other mirror, which may or may not be faulty itself . . . The microswitches have a small metal arm that often becomes dislodged when the mirror is impacted by something, thereby preventing the control unit from determining the mirror position, so the mirrors just fold out again . . . to repair, remove the painted mirror back very carefully (you need something thin and strong to get behind it but be careful as these retainer tabs are easily damaged). This will reveal a blue wire and a white wire which are connected to a small black plastic box which contains the microswitch for the folding mirrors. Unsnap the box's cover and there's a U-shaped piece of metal inside; straighten this a tiny bit and operate the mirrors. Keep trying this (without breaking it) until they fold okay every time."

I tried this repair, myself, and was able to restore full and proper functionality to both my electronic folding mirrors, saving $1500 in replacement costs in the process. On my driver's mirror, the metal arm had completely detached from the microswitch and was lying next to it loose inside the plastic box. I simply reattached the metal arm to the pivot points on the microswitch and the mirror worked fine. On the passenger mirror, the metal arm was still attached to the microswitch, but the end of it was twisted out of shape and would not engage the microswitch. (The U-shaped end of the metal arm actually rests in an indentation on the mirror post's nylon surface; when the mirror folds in electronically, the metal arm rises out of the first indentation and briefly engages the microswitch before sliding into the mirror post's second indentation at the folded position where it disengages the microswitch and sends a signal to the control module that the mirror is properly folded.) I had to use needle nose pliers to restore the proper U-shape bend in the metal arm so that it would slide in and out of the indentations correctly and engage the microswitch as the mirror was folding.

So far, so good. I've tested my electronic folding mirrors a number of times since then and they stay folded every time. The total time to repair both mirrors was less than one hour.

12-05-2009, 06:19 AM

Dikicon

Wing Mirrors

Morning. My 55 X5 has been in 3 times to Berrys to have the electric wing mirrors fixed. Everytimes it's fixed it just comes back with the same 'in-then-back-out' problem. Berrys have been terrible, any ideas why this happens.